Tokyo, 23 September, /AJMEDIA/
Crown Prince Fumihito and six other imperial family members will attend the state funeral of slain former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe next week, the Imperial Household Agency announced Wednesday.
Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako will not join the state-funded ceremony next Tuesday as it is customary for emperors not to make appearances at funerals at home or abroad. The couple made a rare exception when they attended Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral on Monday.
The prospective funeral attendees from the imperial family at the Nippon Budokan arena in Tokyo are the crown prince, Crown Princess Kiko, their second daughter Princess Kako, as well as Princess Nobuko, widow of Prince Tomohito of Mikasa, their first daughter Princess Akiko, Princess Hisako, widow of Prince Takamado, and their first daughter Princess Tsuguko.
The agency said it received a letter from Prime Minister Fumio Kishida requesting the attendance of imperial family members on July 22 when the Cabinet decided to hold a state funeral for Abe. The decision on the members was made based on past precedent, it said.
Abe, who became the country’s longest-serving prime minister after over eight years at the helm over two stints, was fatally shot on July 8 on an election campaign trail.
His private funeral was held at a Tokyo temple in a subdued mood days afterward. In contrast, the government’s decision to hold a state funeral for the former prime minister has faced growing public opposition.
Recent polls have shown that the majority of Japanese oppose it, as his death brought under scrutiny dubious relations between Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers and the Unification Church, a controversial religious group founded in South Korea in 1954 and labeled a cult by critics.
Abe’s assailant has told investigators that the church had brought financial ruin to his family because of large donations his mother made to it as a follower, and that he believed Abe had ties to the church.
